A contrasting tale of two world champions: How Unmukt Chand was luckier than Ram Karan Singh
In 2012, Unmukt Chand became the darling of India’s youth cricket system, after successfully leading the U-19 team to World Cup success. Following the steps of previous Captain, Delhi boy Virat Kohli, he was then touted as a prodigy within the domestic cricketing hierarchy.
However, upon his triumphant return, Unmukt faced glum news. His college, St Stephens denied him permission from sitting for promotion exams. According to the Principal Valson Thampu, he had failed to meet the minimum attendance criteria required for promotion.
A massive furore took place over the issue, with the national media highlighting Unmukt’s performances at the World Cup. The situation was accentuated after he scored a match winning 111 against Australia in the final.
Even senior team Captain MS Dhoni tweeted regarding the matter. He said, “Marks for sports takes back seat attendance for now takes centrestage. This shows how much importance sports has in INDIA. Sad to hear.”
Cricket World Cup victory gives Unmukt automatic academic promotion, Arjuna Awardee Ram Karan failed due to attendance
Before a national drama could ensue, the Stephens Vice Chancellor immediately intervened to grant him immediate promotion and a cash prize of Rs 25 lakhs. However, that very year another world champion and Arjuna Awardee was denied permission to sit for his exams, after being granted zero marks for attendance.
Ram Karan Singh might not be a name synonymous within India’s sporting landscape, but his achievements as a para-athlete are second to none. In 2011, he defeated athletes from 35 different countries to win gold and bronze at the World Games. Even at the 2011 Games, he successfully won silver in the 800m event.
Consistent success on the international stage, saw him awarded the Arjuna Award for excellence in sport in 2012. Such an upward growth trajectory would be considered a matter of pride for any college. But, Ram Karan’s inability to sit for exams reflected the state of para-athletics in India.
Studying at Satyawati college, Ram Karan returned from the World Games in Greece to no fervour whatsoever. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, he said, “I felt really bad because I kept telling them that I was recently bestowed with the Arjuna Award and that I had gone to represent India. I also pointed out to them how Unmukt Chand had also been promoted. But, they refused, saying that it was not in control and rules were rules. I couldn’t understand the logic and let it be”
He added, “This just highlighted what people think about para-athletes. What they fail to realise is that para-athletics is tougher for us, because there are no facilities whatsoever. If you go to countries abroad, para-athletes are all government funded. Here leave alone funding there are no facilities, no federation, nothing. Hence, we have to defy infrastructural problems as well. It was very demotivating for me at the time.”
Approached media but nobody listened: National Para-athletics Coach Satpal Singh
Having dropped a year, Ram Karan couldn’t truly find his pre-Arjuna Award form. Focusing more of his time in completing his education, the 27-year old couldn’t give as much time as before. His Coach Satpal Singh said, “Ram Karan’s case was an absolute joke, we approached various media outlets, but nobody was ready to even listen to us. So, we also gave up. But after that, he started focussing on his education as he really wanted a degree.”
And why wouldn’t he? Last year, the Paralympic Council of India (PCI) was dissolved after failing to meet governance standards. This has deeply affected India’s para-athletes. With little or no representation, the athletes have self-funded their international tournaments.
Ram Karan added, “I had paid Rs 90,000 to the PCI for my travels to a foreign tournament, They had said that they would return it after the international tournaments were over. However, the Federation got dissolved and I’m yet to receive the money. If I ask PCI guys they say go to Sports Authority of India (SAI), if I talk to the SAI guys they say go to PCI, so I don’t know.”
Ram Karan has not qualified for the Rio Paralympics in September, as he is currently concentrating on his B.Ed exams. He added, “There is no excuse for not making it I missed out by micro seconds and that is fact. Me saying it’s because of my educations will be an excuse. But, yes I have been focussing on my education as I know I need a degree as a back-up. Para-athletics will not always feed me.”
This is not the first time a sportsperson outside cricket has had to drop a year. Despite winning Commonwealth and Asian Games medals, Indian shooter Jaspal Rana had to shift to Sri Aurobindo College from St Stephens mid-year as they were not allowing him to sit for exams.
Even swimmer Sandeep Sejwal faced a similar predicament, during his tenure. However, the contradiction is that none of them were World Champions like Unmukt. If that is the case, then Ram Karan completely fits the notion. In fact, he outdid athletes from more countries than Unmukt did, en-route to the World Cup victory.
This particular move by college authorities acted as a catalyst for Ram Karan’s shift in interest to education. Now aiming for Tokyo 2020, we can only hope that one of India’s most successful para-athletes returns to compete against the crème de la crème.